Pop quiz. Over the last ten years, what’s been Nokia’s best selling mobile phone? Give up? OK then, the answer is the simplistic yet hugely popular Nokia 6300 Classic. Winning people over with its ease of use and capable features, even Nokia’s Nseries range has failed to topple it from its throne.

 

Look and feel

 

Perhaps due in part to the 6300’s continued success, Nokia has kept us waiting for its successor. Well folks, the wait is over with the emergence of the Nokia 6700 Classic. Available in a chrome, mirrored finish or piano black décor, the 6700 is bound to attract some admiring glances. Our review sample was the chrome, mirrored variant and, influenced by Nokia’s fashionable Arte range, it feels very sturdy due to its metallic build. Unfortunately, this also contributes to the handset feeling a tad weighty, while the mirror finish is a real haven for picking up fingerprints.

The keypad is an all-in-one affair with thin plastic strips separating the four rows. The keys are completely flat and require a degree of pressure, but feel good under the thumbs. Operating on the age old Symbian Series 40 system, the 6700 is a cinch to get to grips with. Press the D-pad when in the home screen to access your regular menu. All the icons are clearly visible thanks to the 16 million colour, 2.2-inch TFT display, and you can also customise your home screen with an array of shortcuts.

At the top of the screen is a ‘Shortcut Bar’ that can be scrolled through for one click access to your selected features. However, below this you have the option of displaying three further shortcuts. We opted for Media Player/Radio, Calendar and My Note, but it’s entirely up to you.

 

Five-megapixel camera

 

Whereas the 6300 only packed a two-megapixel camera, Nokia has upped the stakes by bundling in a five-megapixel snapper. It may be lacking the Carl Zeiss optics found in Nokia’s more advanced devices, but it does pack auto-focus and a decent LED flash that pleasantly surprised us when it came to capturing low light and night time shots. However, don’t expect anything as fancy as face recognition, smile detection or any other features found in more camera-focused handsets. Video recording, and the 6700 has the ability to capture over four hours of footage, which is highly commendable. Yet, if you want to send your clips via MMS you will be restricted to a maximum length of just 11 seconds.

 

A-GPS

 

Sadly, we had to remain patient when using the phone’s GPS. Switching on the assisted GPS did help speed matters along, but that wasn’t our only gripe when it came to the mapping experience. The screen is too small to win us over as a genuine navigating device, while Nokia Maps only displayed a select number of street names. It will be useful if you find yourself lost, but we wouldn’t advise using it as your sole means of getting somewhere.

Our issue with the size of the screen also meant the internet experience was not as enjoyable as it is on phones with larger displays. That said, the pages loaded quickly thanks to HSDPA data speeds, and we also liked the fact that pressing the back button displayed the last few webpages we had been browsing, allowing us to backtrack to the exact page we wanted to look at again.

Memory wise and though the 6700 offers just 170MB of internal memory, Nokia does include a 1GB memory card, and the phone is capable of supporting cards up to 16GB. However, something the phone is lacking and can’t be compensated for is a 3.5mm headset port.

 

The verdict

 

We predict a bright future for the Nokia 6700 Classic. It might not enjoy the same success as its predecessor – the mobile revolution has come on leaps and bounds since then – but if you’re after a mid-range handset with competent if not exceptional features, then the Nokia 6700 Classic will prove to be a smart choice